Gates
Humans "use" Magic by separating Flow from their Bloodstream and releasing it out of specialised glands called Gates. Gates are black in colour and bear elaborate patterns, similar to those of tattoos. Gates also serve as a way to determine the Magical Power of a person at a glance. Gates are a non-vital organ. You won't die if they get burned and become unusable or something, relax. History Gates are a recent evolutionary trait for humans. Its been about 2000 years since the population randomly all gained Gates at the same time. Some say it was the Great Kings. Others, simply a matter of time, seeing as most other animals aside from humans had the ability to use Magic to some extent. When Gates Develop Because this is a shonen, Gates normally develop at puberty. But, children being born with fully functional Gates is a commonly-uncommon occurrence. Children simply developing them early is less common. Being born without Gates is genetically impossible, it seems. Children are usually taught by their parents how to use magic. This traditional way of raising your child yourself is outdated; Flow Academies exist, so that's where you dump your moody brat. Places Gates develop and uniqueness Like beauty spots, Gates can and will develop Literally anywhere, as long as it'll create a distinguishable pattern. Even your hair. It's most common for people to have Gates on the hand or arms though. No two individual's Gates will be identical. Even among twins and family members, Gate patterns will still have distinguishable variation. Gates can be reflective of a person's personality if they were not born with them, the places in which they develop and the speed at which they do so affected by strong emotions and environmental influence. Darkness and Maximum Flow Output Gates can only release so much Flow at a time. This is represented by the Darkness of one's Gates; the darker they are, the more specialised glands are present, meaning that more Flow can be released at once. Quite like hypertrophy, if a person were to put their Gates under a lot of stress by releasing a bunch of Flow at once, they will become darker, if only slightly, by the time that person has recovered from the inevitable Flow Deprivation and. Attempts to "Go Beyond One's Limits" by releasing more flow out of your body than your Gates can handle will result in Flow Sickness, temporary yet agonisingly painful closing of the Gates. Know your place. Pattern Complexity and Link Strength Any Flow under a person's control can be said to have a "Link" between them. This "Link" allows the person to control Flow in the way that we all see characters do: Transmute, Move, Concentrate, etc. With their mind. In regards to people, everyone's Link strength starts off weak and they won't be able to use magic very well without losing control of it every other time. However, the more a person uses magic, the stronger their Links will become, making magic easier to use and allowing them to do more advanced stuff with it. The detail of the patterns of a person's Gates indicates how strong their Links are. If something that can create stronger Links than you tries to make one with Flow that is Linked to you, they will be able to take it off of you, and vice versa. Attempting to establish a Link between more Flow than your Gates allow you to will result in a Mind Crush. Trying to do complex things with Magic that would require more complex Gates will also result in this. Closed Gates The less you use magic, The harder and more energy-taxing it becomes to release flow and control it. Eventually, your gates will "Close". A Closed gate is barely visible and doesn't release Flow as your body priorities using it to keep you alive, rather preserving it for magic attacks which you don't use. Why Gates Close Gates Close for two main reasons: # Flow Deprivation, more on that on it's respective page. (Life Essence is fueled by flow. No flow = no life essence = ded) # Neglect (being bad at magic also causes gates to close). More on that on it's respective page Using magic becomes impossible until you decide to "open" them back up. You can forcibly open up your gates. This is painful beyond description. Letting the open up normally takes up to a week If you get put into extreme danger, they open back up instantly because, you know, self-defence instincts. Please Keep This In Mind Also, if you don't have gates, you will NEVER, EVER be able to use magic, EVER. I'm not bullshitting it in. I refuse. (ok maybe you'll be able to use an artifact, but still.) Gates don't glow or make a sound effect or anything when you release flow. This is because having them do so would bait a person out if they were, I don't know, pretending to be dead and trying to escape. (*cough*''jiraiya*cough*)''